Mayflower Compact

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mayflower-compact

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the document type?Foundational agreement establishing a 'civil body politic' for Plymouth Colony
2. What is the date of signing?November 21, 1620 (Gregorian calendar)
3. Why did the Mayflower passengers need to write the Compact?They landed in a place that was not part of the English colony they were supposed to be in, so no king or English law could keep order. They wrote the Compact to create a new set of rules and keep everyone safe.
4. Who signed the Mayflower Compact?Forty-one adult men on the Mayflower, including Puritans, investors, and tradesmen, signed the Compact while the ship was in Provincetown Harbor.

Civil Body Politic: A structured political community or society organized to create and enforce laws for its members.
Covenant: A solemn promise or agreement, often with religious or moral implications, binding parties to a shared commitment.
Popular Sovereignty: The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people.
Patent: An official document granted by a government conferring a right or privilege, in this case, permission to settle land.